


Found in Translation

by misslymiss



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-09
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 00:27:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3708521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misslymiss/pseuds/misslymiss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Hey Octavia, you know a bit about the Grounder’s language, right?”<br/>“Yeah, I’m learning. Why?”<br/>“Do you know what jomp em up en yu jomp ai op means?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Found in Translation

**Author's Note:**

> Set after 2 X 10

“Hey Octavia, you know a bit about the Grounder’s language, right?”

  
The events that unfolded the day before are running through Clarke’s mind. To her own amazement, the one thing she can’t get off her mind is not the very large gorilla that tried to kill them, but rather the words Lexa spoke after throwing the knife that saved her.

  
“Yeah, I’m learning. Why?”

  
Clarke hesitates. She has no idea what the words mean, but she knows that they are significant. She is reluctant to share them with Octavia, but her desire to understand what Lexa has said wins over.

  
“Do you know what _jomp em up en yu jomp ai op_ means?”

Octavia pauses for a moment to consider, then her eyes widen. Clarke is starting to regret having asked at all.

“Did the Commander say that?”

“Um… maybe. Why? What does it mean?”

Octavia is now grinning broadly. She nudges Clarke playfully.

“I mean I knew that the two of you were getting along well, but I mean-“

“Just tell me what it means, Octavia!” She adds a “please” on second thought.

“Ok, ok! It means _attack her and you attack me_.”

Clarke is completely dumbstruck. Despite having arranged an alliance with Lexa, she had never been sure of the Commander’s intentions. There had always been a part of her that knew that Lexa could have all her people killed; she didn’t really need them. But this sentence changed anything. This sentence proved that Lexa’s intentions were good. That perhaps she even cared, in some respect. And Clarke knew that the words had not been for her benefit. Lexa had never intended for her to understand them.

Clarke’s mind is whirling. She is consumed by her thoughts and she barely notices where her legs are bringing her. When she looks around, she finds herself in front of the Commander’s tent. She sighs and nods to the guards standing at the entrance, who move aside to let her in. She takes a deep breath and walks inside.

Lexa is sitting with her generals, discussing strategy when Clarke enters. If she is surprised, she does not show it. She says a few words to the generals, dismissing them and waits for them to leave before she stands and addresses Clarke.

“How can I help you, Clarke?”

Clarke doesn’t know what to say and, in that moment, she really wishes she was the kind of person that thought things through.

“How’s your arm?”

“Still hurts.”

Clarke can feel herself getting flustered and she shifts her weight from foot to foot. She tries to gather the courage to bring up what is on her mind, and she can’t understand for the life of her why it is so difficult to talk all of a sudden. Lexa looks at her with an eyebrow raised and a hint of a smile on her lips.

“Why are you here, Clarke?”

“Attack her and you attack me.” she blurts out before she can lose her nerve, and it’s Lexa’s turn to look flustered. Clarke notes that her ears redden slightly and her faint smile disappears.

Lexa swallows visibly. “Who translated for you?”

“Octavia did, but that’s not important. Why did you say it?”

Clarke steps forward and Lexa stands her ground. There is a pause as Lexa carefully considers her answer. She opens her mouth to reply, but checks herself. Clarke tries not to notice when she licks her lips before finally answering.

“We have formed an alliance and in order to maintain it, you need to stay alive. I am simply doing what I must in order to keep the peace.”

“Oh come on Lexa, is that really it?”

Clarke takes another step forward and they are suddenly very close. She has no idea what is going through the Commander’s head. On one hand, Lexa has shown that she cares, and she is not retreating from their closeness. On the other hand, the blonde feels that she could probably have her hand chopped off for touching the Commander and she doesn’t like to think of what the consequences might be if she kissed her.

They look each other in the eye, both standing their ground. Lexa’s mind is whirling. She can barely remember her own name. All she knows is that she wants to press her lips against Clarke's and lose herself in her. She is about to give in when the tent flap swings open and Indra storms in. Clarke and Lexa jump apart and turn towards her.

Lexa clears her throat and asks “Yes, Indra?”

“You are needed outside, Heda. Reapers have attacked a group of our soldiers outside the camp. They need reinforcements.”

“Prepare my horse and send for our best warriors.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea with your arm in a sling, Lexa?”

“Clarke, my people need me to lead them. How can I expect them to fight when I myself am not willing to?”

Clarke sighs. She admires the way Lexa leads and protects her people, but it infuriates her that she would do so at all costs.

“Ok then, I’m coming too.”

“Clarke…”

The blonde stares at the Commander and sees her resolve fade.

“Indra, have a horse saddled for Clarke of the Sky People.”

“Yes, Heda.” Indra eyes Clarke distrustfully before rushing out of the tent.

Clarke is impressed by the efficiency of the Grounders. Within minutes, their horses are saddled and they are riding towards the Reapers. When they reach fight, they find the Grounders greatly outnumbered and struggling to keep the upper hand. They are surrounded, but show no sign of giving up. The reinforcements sweep in and Clarke is in the middle of the battle. Adrenaline courses through her veins as she attacks the Reapers. She is inexperienced in battle, and suffers a blow here and there, but deals many of her own. She pulls out her gun and starts firing, careful not to shoot anyone on her side. She loses count of how many she kills, but her mind is at ease knowing that every Reaper she kills is one less threat to Lexa.

Clarke leans against a tree at the edge of the battle in order to reload her gun when she feels herself being pulled from behind. She turns to see a Reaper staring back at her. She lashes out, but he has her at an awkward angle, and he is stronger than she is. He grabs her hands roughly and ties them together as he lugs her away from the fight. Clarke shouts for help, but the sounds of the battle drown out her voice. She kicks and thrashes, but the Reaper hits her over the head and she falls unconscious.

When Clarke wakes up, her mind is hazy. She feels herself being dragged, but she is too weak to try to free herself. She is lucid enough to know that, soon, this Reaper will be joined by many others, and that it will be impossible for her to escape then. She has given up on trying to escape when she hears hooves thundering behind her. The Reaper turns to face the sound, never letting go of his captive. The sound gets louder and a large horse appears from behind the trees, a figure on its back. Clarke sees a flash of metal and feels the warmth of the Reaper’s blood on her cheek. She looks up and sees Lexa shielding her sword and dismounting her horse.

“Clarke! Are you alright?”

“You should have left me behind.” She answers, echoing Lexa’s words from the previous day.

“I can’t help being weak when it comes to you.”

“I thought that love was weakness… Oh shit.” Clarke mumbles as she falls unconscious.

 

***

 

Clarke wakes up disoriented and confused, and she feels like her head might explode. She opens her eyes and takes in her surroundings. It’s dark, but she can make out the outline of a person crouching with their back to her. She sits up slowly and feels around for a sharp rock she can use. Her hand slowly closes across her makeshift weapon and she slowly approaches the shadow. Just as her arm is raised to attack, the figure spins around and Clarke finds Lexa staring back at her, wide-eyed. She lets her arm hang loosely from her side and drops the rock.

She brings her hand to her temple and sits down slowly. “Lexa? Wha- what’s going on?”

“You were taken by a Reaper. It was too dark to go back to camp so I found a cave for the night. How’s your head?”

“Hurts.” Clarke groans.

“You should go back to sleep. You need to rest.”

“I’m cold.”

“We can’t build a fire, we would risk being exposed.”

Clarke is too tired to argue. Instead, she sighs and crawls over towards Lexa. When she reaches her, she curls up against her, letting the Commander’s body heat warm her. And Lexa’s body is suddenly feeling very, very hot now that Clarke is pressed up against her.

 

***

 

It’s light outside when Clarke finally wakes up again. She keeps her eyes closed as the memories from the day before slowly come back to her. She tenses as she notices that she is not leaning against a hard cave wall, but rather something warm and soft. She slowly opens her eyes and finds Lexa looking down at her. Embarrassed, Clarke untangles herself from the Commander as gracefully as she can manage.

“Uh… You didn’t have to… put up with me for the whole night.” Clarke mumbles, gesturing awkwardly to where she had been lying the moment before.

That elicits a smile from Lexa. “It was no trouble. You needed the rest… and the warmth.”

Lexa stands and brushes the dirt from her clothes. “Are you feeling better this morning?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

“We should get back to camp.”

Clarke stands slowly, stars entering her vision. She staggers and leans against the cave wall for balance.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Uh, maybe I should just sit down for a minute.” Clarke sighs, letting herself fall back to the grown unceremoniously.

Lexa sits next to her, more gracefully, and crosses her legs.

“You suffered a bad blow to the head. How much do you remember?”

“I remember the fight. Then being dragged away. And then you were there...” Clarke contorts her face, trying to remember more. “You said something about weakness.”

Lexa gulps and stammers “You hit your head, it’s normal to be confused.”

“No, I remember,” Clarke insists. “You said you were weak around me, and then I said that I thought that love was… Oh.”

Lexa’s face turns crimson and Clarke’s is a shade or two darker. It all makes sense to her now. Why Lexa said those words when she saved her life. Why she didn’t seem to understand personal space around her. Why she came to save her when the Reaper took her. It wasn’t just about the alliance, it was about her. The blonde buries her face in her hands. She can’t believe she was this oblivious. All this time she had been assuming her attraction to the Commander had been one-sided. She has never been very good at the whole romance thing.

Clarke shakes her head and stands slowly. “We should probably head back.”

Lexa gets up hesitantly. “Clarke, I-”

Before she has time to say any more, Clarke spins around and grabs her shirt, pulling her closer. Lexa’s words die in her throat and all she can think of is how Clarke’s lips would feel against hers. She finds out.

The kiss is soft and patient. They melt into each other, sighing into each other’s mouths, wanting to be as close as possible. Clarke is amazed at how gentle the strong Commander is and how sweet her lips taste. _Mount Weather’s chocolate cake has nothing on her lips_.

They break apart when they are both smiling too much to continue. The blonde revels in the sight of the beaming Commander whose shining eyes could light up the night sky. Clarke wants to be the one who makes her smile, every single day. She wants to be the one that makes her happy.

 

***

 

Clarke holds Lexa’s hand on their way back to camp. She claims it’s to help with her balance, but they both know that it’s a lie. Neither of them cares. They walk in silence, both wanting to engrave this moment in their memories. They finally split ways as Clarke goes to camp Jaha to have her head looked at and Lexa goes back to her camp to check on her warriors.

Abby rushes to her daughter when she sees her walk into the infirmary. “Where have you been, Clarke? I was worried.”

Clarke returns her hug and shrugs. “I was taken by a Reaper and Lexa came to get me. It was too dark travel in the woods by then, so we spent the night in a cave.”

Abby is barely listening as she fusses over her daughter. She sits her down and starts cleaning the large gash on her forehead where the Reaper hit her. Clarke bobs her knee up and down impatiently and winces occasionally as Abby takes care of her head wound. She can’t wait to get back to Lexa.

“I think you had a bit of a concussion. You should be fine in a week or two.”  
Abby pats her daughter’s knee and motions for her to stand up. When Clarke stands, her vision suddenly goes blurry and she has to hold on to her mother to stop herself from falling over.

“Ok, you’re lying down for the rest of the day.”

“Mom-”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

Clarke attempts to escape from the infirmary three times that day. The first time, she falls over when she stands up, and her mother comes rushing to put her back to bed. The second, she makes it to the door before she is stopped by Sinclair.

“Sorry, Clarke. Chancellor’s orders.”

The third time, she is successful. She slips away from the camp discreetly and is surprised to see that it is already getting dark. She makes her way to Lexa’s tent, only stumbling twice. She walks right past the guards and into Lexa’s tent. Clarke stops short when she sees her sitting at a table with various plates of meat, vegetables and fruit.

“I didn’t know the Commander ate.”

“Of course I-” Lexa stops when she realizes she is being made fun of.

“Would you like to join me?”

“Sure, I’m starving.”

Clarke sits across from Lexa and starts chewing on a piece of meat. They eat in a silence they do not feel the need to fill. When they have both finished, Clarke sighs contentedly and looks at Lexa mischievously.

“You’ve got something, right…” she points to her own lip to demonstrate.

Lexa flushes and wipes her lip with a cloth.

Clarke grins. “No, right there-” She leans over and kisses her.

Lexa is taken aback for an instant, then grins against the blonde’s mouth in understanding. She deepens the kiss and runs her hand through her golden hair. They pull apart gently, touching their foreheads together.

“Wow, I’m really tired for someone who’s been lying in a bed all day.”

Lexa frowns. “Is your head feeling any better?”

“A little bit.”

“You can stay here for the night. You probably shouldn’t be walking back to your camp in your condition.”

When Clarke does not object, Lexa leads her to her bed and gently lies her down in it. She removes her armor before lying down next to her. Clarks shifts to her side, facing away from Lexa, who immediately shuffles towards her and wraps her arm around her. They both sigh contentedly and close their eyes. They lie there, breathing in each other’s presence, reveling in the knowledge that they are safe in each other’s arms.

Lexa waits for Clarke’s breathing to slow before she whispers “I love you, Clarke.”

Clarke stirs. “I thought that love was weakness, Commander?”

“Then I am weak.”

“So am I.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic, all comments appreciated!  
> Come say hi: misslymiss.tumblr.com


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